'Mentally, physically & tactically, Arsenal show why they are a force'

Mikel Arteta must beryllium devastated that Manchester City equalised truthful precocious connected Sunday but, fixed nan circumstances, he will still beryllium delighted pinch nan cognition and capacity of his players.

It took a 98th-minute John Stones extremity to contradict Arsenal what would person been a immense connection triumph complete nan Premier League champions, who person not been beaten astatine location since November 2022.

Even so, nan measurement nan Gunners came from a extremity down to lead astatine Etihad Stadium earlier nan break, and past clasp retired for almost nan full 2nd half pinch 10 men, showed why they person go specified a unit - mentally, physically and tactically.

Their results and performances successful 3 reliable distant games successful nan past 7 days person underlined that, pinch a hard-fought triumph astatine Tottenham and a battling tie against Atalanta earlier this game, which they were unlucky not to win.

It was hardly astonishing that it was a set-piece that gave Arsenal nan lead against City. Everyone knows really vulnerable they are now, peculiarly astatine corners, but because they are truthful bully astatine them, they are still very difficult to stop.

As a player, I ever knew location would ever beryllium opportunities successful these situations, if not for maine past for 1 of my team-mates.

My aged Newcastle leader Bobby Robson would show america “there is ever 1 dope who falls asleep” and we would effort to prime retired nan guidance subordinate who would beryllium slow to respond aliases hide his job.

That’s not what happened against City, though, whether for Arsenal’s first area against them - erstwhile Gabriel escaped Jeremy Doku and headed complete - aliases for nan adjacent one, wherever he sewage distant from Kyle Walker and powered nan shot into nan net.

Instead, while everyone knew what Gabriel was doing and wherever he wanted to go, his sensational activity meant they could not extremity him, and he was besides only 1 portion of Arsenal’s plan.

So galore things had to happen, successful a definite bid and successful nan abstraction of a mates of seconds, for nan shot to extremity up successful nan nett and I cognize from acquisition they are not easy to put together. You person to activity highly difficult astatine each of them to make them work.

Firstly you request a precise delivery, which is what Bukayo Saka provided here, past you person to execute nan block, pinch 4 Arsenal players coming successful from nan backmost station and opinionated successful nan mediate of nan goal, successful beforehand of Ederson, to impede him and to nudge different defenders retired of nan measurement too.

Gabriel has to clip his tally perfectly and travel done each of that crowd and then, if he does get connected nan extremity of nan cross, execute his decorativeness correctly too. He didn’t rather negociate it pinch his first go, but he made nary correction a fewer minutes later.

Putting that full series together - and getting each portion correct - arsenic often arsenic Arsenal do is conscionable astonishing because location are truthful galore different cogs involved, wherever thing tin spell wrong.

As good arsenic having a set-piece plan, and nan players pinch nan value to transportation it out, you are relying connected them having nan desire to support connected doing their portion of nan sequence, immoderate their portion successful it.

All of this is thing new, by nan way. As a player, I was wished to get connected nan extremity of each set-piece, including nan ones we faced, and each my teams did a batch of activity connected attacking and defending them.

Blocking was ever a point past too, a immense portion of it successful fact.

In my day, nan Italians were ever awesome astatine grabbing you and not letting go, and doing thing other they could to make it difficult to get distant from them.

From my constituent of view, arsenic a striker, it was frustrating astatine times. Attackers blocked goalkeepers past arsenic well, but I suppose nan quality now is that nan microscope was not connected them erstwhile it happened.

Now location are much TV cameras, which spot everything, and from different angles, truthful group tin item it afterwards and inquire if personification has been fouled.

So, it has ever been a portion of nan game, judge me. It is conscionable thing other that Arsenal are very bully at.

I was conscionable arsenic impressed pinch nan measurement Arsenal responded aft Leandro Trossard was sent off. Up until Stones scored they had produced a masterclass successful defending arsenic a squad successful nan 2nd half.

Every subordinate put successful an unthinkable effort to frustrate City for truthful long, but again location was a scheme down it and nan full squad was moving together.

When City were camped extracurricular their box, Arsenal thought astir nan full process, staying successful position, moving retired who to springiness clip to successful possession, and who to adjacent down consecutive away.

They gave nary abstraction to Doku aliases Savinho, for example, but they were ever happy to springiness Ruben Dias nan chance to shoot, aliases get connected nan ball.

It was superb crippled management, but I was somewhat amazed that City did not effort to agelong them more, move nan shot quicker aliases effort to get much players successful 1 connected 1 situations.

That is what happened pinch Jack Grealish astatine nan end, erstwhile he recovered immoderate width and sewage astir nan backmost of nan Arsenal defence doubly successful 30 seconds, and won nan area that they scored from.

While Arsenal merit a batch of in installments for shutting City retired for truthful long, you besides person to respect Pep Guardiola’s broadside for nan measurement they kept going to rescue a constituent because, for ample parts, of nan crippled it looked arsenic if they were getting nothing.

Instead, what could person been an atrocious time for them, including Rodri’s wounded that forced him disconnected early on, ended connected a really affirmative note.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.